Kayti Baur’s road has been a winding one. The Halifax-based multi-disciplinary artist—a graphic designer, painter, and maker of “some craft stuff—hair clips, earrings, housewares”—is a NSCAD textiles grad (BFA 2009) who went on to complete a BA in psychology from Mount Saint Vincent University and is finishing a Master of Science in epidemiology at Dalhousie University.
“I was also having severe mental health problems all through NSCAD and MSVU, and I got into public speaking about mental health in post-secondary education,” says Baur. “Bill Travis from NSCAD, who was the disabilities coordinator, really set me on that path.”
In the wake of recovering from a year-long psychotic break, Baur has combined her art practice, activism, and advocacy into Different Folks, which specializes in events and markets for entrepreneurs and artists from underrepresented communities in Halifax. Different Folks holds monthly drop-in art classes for queer artists (and allies) and hosts events throughout the year. The next is the Out And About Pride Month Market on June 25 at the Brewery Market. Stay up-to-date with their goings-on via Instagram.
What pushed you toward creating Different Folks?
In the pandemic I was making a bunch of stuff, because making stuff makes me feel better. I couldn’t do the academic stuff at the time because my mind hadn’t settled back down. So I had all this stuff and didn’t have space for it—I thought why don’t I go to a farmers market and try to see if anyone wants any hair clips? I did farmers markets, craft markets, Pride, Christmas at the Forum, all the big shows.
It was going really well, but I noticed there weren’t a lot of things aimed at underrepresented groups. There were a lot of queer vendors but not a lot of marketing toward queer shoppers. So with Different Folks, we tried to gather and promote to the underrepresented groups as well. The focus is on accessibility—no barriers. Disability is a very broad term.
What has the reaction been like from the communities you want to serve?
It’s been great. A lot of our work has been Pride-oriented—we’ve had a lot of great buy-in from the queer community. We’re getting more family focused, outside of bar-focused, which is a big goal right now at Pride. We’re gonna host a drag show in a couple months. We’re just supporting different forms of art and seeing everyone together in one spot, in a queer-dominated space as opposed to a straight-dominated space.
In putting on these events at various venues around the city, have you seen common issues pop up?
A big problem is accessibility. I have a permanent knee injury and I can’t do stairs, for example. For the most part you can’t really tell, but anybody at my level or worse would have a very hard time at most locations. A lot of things are hosted at the Halifax Forum—it’s one level, but their washrooms are not accessible, they don’t have push buttons on the door. The Brewery Market is uneven, it’s cobblestone in some places. Halifax being such an old city, so much of the downtown core is just not accessible.
We’re trying to put that at the forefront, and trying to be inclusive. There’s a general sense of “it’s not that important because it’s such a small market” of people who need that. But it generally makes it easier for everyone, and it’s a huge age range: senior citizens, for example, you want them to be able engage in their community and they need more options to do that. It’s about creating spaces where the dominant voice in the room is not a cis het white vibe. Whatever group it is, we just want them to have their voice as the dominant voice in the space. Having more spaces where people are able to do that is really the goal.
Did your time at NSCAD inspire anything behind the community spirit at Different Folks?
NSCAD played a really foundational role in how I seek out community. I entered NSCAD as the last winter entrance and my group was very close throughout the program. Beyond that though, I really felt a sense of being part of a community with similar interests, but also a lot of common values and goals. Throughout the rest of my time in school and careers I think I’ve always been wanting that sense of community back because it drives me to do new things and keeps me more creative, along with building friends. NSCAD definitely influenced our monthly art nights in that sense.